Eclipse Island (scr_eclipseisland_v0.1.wad)

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akb778

aka Sutekh94
Been working on this over the past few weeks or so. When Eclipse Island is done, it will feature five zones (3 acts each), several unlockables, SOC'd enemies and bosses, and whatever else I think of. Currently this WAD is in a very unfinished state, with several levels being unfinished, and some of the music that I put in not looping (might need some help on that). Also, you need the Asset Pack (http://mb.srb2.org/showthread.php?t=35544) unless you want to see REDWALL everywhere in the barely-started TGZ1.

Screenshots:

  • Ring Hill Zone
    0.1rhz1.png
    0.1rhz1-2.png
    0.1rhz1-3.png
    0.1rhz3.png
  • Island Factory Zone
    0.1ifz1.png
    0.1ifz1-3.png
    0.1ifz1-4.png
    0.1ifz3.png
Notes:

  • IFZ1 has a SOC'd red crawla that moves and shoots missiles (thing type 1330). There is also a SOC'd yellow buzz (not used in any map yet; thing type 1331)
  • IFZ3 features the beginnings of a SOC'd boss (thing type 1340). Eventually it will be moved to another map and the Egg Slimer boss will take its place in IFZ3.
  • Several maps included here are incomplete or barely even started. IFZ1 has an incomplete path, RHZ2 is just started and will be finished by v0.2, and TGZ1 and SSZ1 will be finished later.
As always, feedback/constructive criticism is welcome. Anything that will help me improve this WAD is appreciated.
 

Attachments

  • scr_eclipseisland_v0.1.rar
    13.4 MB · Views: 1,240
By the screenshots, this looks fun to play even that it not done.
 
level design : 7/10 could use alot of different textures.

level play : 5.5/10 the levels are good but cramped . People want to discover the level in many ways so add secret stuff like extras life, tokens, etc.

overall: 6.5/10 its okay but it could be way better . Good luck on this wad
 
To be quite honest, there's a lot of things wrong with this wad and not very many things done right. It also reminds me of the custom maps that would be seen when version 1.09.4 was still being used, which is not necessarily a good thing.

Ring Hill 1 is highly linear and far too cramped a significant amount of the time. While it is appreciated that you have included alternate paths for different characters, the entire stage ultimately boils down to running down corridors with inconsequential crawlas blocking your path. Furthermore, when the player can see an area of the level it appears they can walk on, it is extremely off putting when an invisible wall blocks their way. Either create a barrier of some kind, even if it's just raising the walls so the player won't see these flat stretches of grass, or include content on them such as secrets or alternate paths and let the player explore. The latter being a much more preferable option.

Island Factory 1 shows that you are improving already mind you, with a stronger focus on additional pathways and secrets along with a level of detail that makes it clear that you planned ahead when making this map, best shown when the player enters the factory. But I still found problems with corridors being too cramped, or otherwise poor design choices. But the fact that you're taking the time to soc new enemies is fantastic, however the new enemy desperately needs new sprites so the player can tell it apart from a normal red crawla at a glance, before it starts shooting.

There is a huge amount of room for improvement here and there's a good chance these levels are beyond saving (especially Ring Hill 1) but it's a start.
 
Let me see... These levels are good, with path variations and such, but are very cramped, and need more details. I will show some problems in the spoiler.



Ok .. that's weird. I mean, I do not think nature does stairs, this way. And also, this region is very cramped. Try expanding it.



Invisible FOF?



Nothing special here, I just think that this place should be higher, including the ceiling.



Erm, I think here, the image already shows what I mean.



Curiosity, this region should represent what?



Good work here, I liked it.



I liked this place, but please, raise the roof, I can not normally jump here. Before I forget, raise the platforms.

My fault here was criticize you more than just show the good parts, and give tips. I will try to create another post soon talking about it.
You did a good job here, keep it up.

PS: Sorry if my English was horrible here, I used Google Translate
 
Let me see... These levels are good, with path variations and such, but are very cramped, and need more details. I will show some problems in the spoiler.



Ok .. that's weird. I mean, I do not think nature does stairs, this way. And also, this region is very cramped. Try expanding it.

Gonna be fixed in the next version.



Invisible FOF?

Nope, that's what happens when the thok barrier is too low - you start seeing the rest of the map across the thok barrier. Fixed.



Curiosity, this region should represent what?

That part is the beginning of a path in IFZ1 which will be finished in v0.2.
 
Okay, To be Honest, This Pack Bored Me. In Ring Hill all you had to do is run and jump, It needs more platforming. in act 3 of Ring Hill on the big platform in the middle it Had the Grass3 flat and the Jungle Flower texture. That just doesn't look right, please change it. Island Factory was better than Ring Hill but it still had problems. Some of it was flat and bland and alot of it was to cramped. Otherwies, it's a good start.
 
Looks ok, gonna play it as soon as i can get it into my SRB2 folder(my PC isnt letting me copy files right now).

---------- Post added at 02:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 AM ----------

I played it, its ok, my RHZ1 time is 30 seconds :P
 
Okay, time for my own feedback. First a few general things:

  • I find it odd that you didn't make your levels accessible in level select, especially since some of them are skipped when you start a new game. The only way to reach the incomplete levels is to warp to them via the map command. That's not very user-friendly.
  • 95% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Giving percentages for the progress on your levels is very unprofessional since you never know exactly how far you are in. It's better to describe the status of your levels in words, e.g. "IFZ1: Finished except for an alternate path" or "RHZ2: Only the first room has been started".
  • If your levels use asset pack textures, then include said textures in your pack and give proper credit. Forcing players to download and add the asset pack manually is not user-friendly.
  • Don't do too many things at once. I see that you have already started a few other levels. Please don't try to make them all simultaneously. Concentrate on one level at a time and try to make it as good as you can before you start with other levels.
Okay, now for the levels.

RHZ1:
The whole level is very flat and empty. That means that a.) there's very little to do aside from running forward, which makes it boring, and b.) there's very little exploration to do. There are a few secrets, which is of course good, but they're all blindingly obvious because the terrain is so basic that every little detail stands out. Another problem was that the ceilings are frequently too low, which makes the rooms unnecessarily constrictive and has the undesired side effect of invisible walls where the thok barrier is. Take a look at the room heights in GFZ1 and use similar heights in your level. The ceiling should be always a good bit out of reach.

What makes the problem with the invisible walls worse is that your design is very "room-y", for the lack of a better term. Take a look at GFZ1 and GFZ2 (and to a lesser extent, ACZ1), which have a very open design where the terrain between rooms is frequently used as extra territory. Your level consists of a few basic rooms that are connected by corridors. It's important to avoid transitional corridors as much as you can because they tend to be boring. The large corridor in the middle of THZ1 is one of the worst pieces of level design in all of SRB2. Another minor thing: Please don't use GFZFLR02 and GRASS3 in the same level. They clash horribly.

Most of the level can be beaten without jumping at all, which is obviously a problem in a platforming game. To make a stage fun, it's important to challenge the player. Of course, in a first level, these challenges should be basic and easy, but they nevertheless need to be there. You did include a few challenges, but they hardly do what they're supposed to. I actually have to try to get hit by your single lines of spikes. Please make them thicker, like the ones in GFZ1, so that there's an actual threat of getting hit by them. I also remember a pit with a few safety platforms in it. Aside from the fact that a first level should never have any death pits (the first death pits in SRB2 2.1 are in DSZ2, which is the eighth level out of twenty-one), it's also easily skippable because one jump clears the whole pit. That makes all the safety platforms obsolete.

IFZ1:
The first half of this level has the same problems as RHZ1: There's nothing to do except running. At least the ceiling heights are more reasonable here. Also, if you want to make an alternate path and it's not done yet, don't seal it off with a striped wall. Just remove the entrance to it outright so that players aren't stumped by a sudden dead end and don't even notice that something is missing.

The entrance to the factory shows some actual detailing, although rudimentary, which is nice. I really have to wonder why the fences are intangible though. When I see a fence that is higher than my player character, I except it to be solid. The rest of the factory shows some attempts at actual platforming, most of which are okay. The turret at the end seems pretty superfluous though and the ceiling is again way too low.

Bottom line:
RHZ1 has no real redeeming value. The best thing would be to completely scrap it and redesign it from scratch. This time, ask yourself what challenges you want to pose to the player before you start mapping. The second half of IFZ1, although it's pretty much a second-rate THZ2 clone, is okay and you can keep it if you want to. The first half is garbage though and needs to be scrapped and redone.
 
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